Lemon Tree
by CrimsonSympathy
Summary: When Sarah calls Jareth back into her world shortly after solving the Labyrinth, they're both shocked to find that he cannot get back until another baby is wished away or the Goblin Kingdom needs him. What's Sarah going to do with him until then?
1. The Calling

**A/N: **I know, juggling two stories at once is not a wise idea. I've done this to myself so many times I don't know why I'm not learning. I think I'm an addict for stories. Anyway, this is another Labyrinth fic. Damn my need to write about Jareth these days. Hope the obsession goes away sometime soon _(don't look at me like that)._ I'll still work on my other one, don't worry.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the movie Labyrinth, it's characters or its music.

* * *

Jareth, the Goblin King, was resting. It had been but an hour since that minx had broken his Labyrinth, broken him. He lay on his bed, staring at a stony ceiling, not wanting to feel, to think, to see. If he could, he would wish death upon himself, but too many fae had unwillingly faded from such wishes. A doctor had already seen him, shook his head, and wandered away, not saying anything. He and Jareth both knew that there was no magic or medicine that could mend him right now. They both knew it had to be waited out.

His bed was round, large, and built more for comfort then for looks. Various cushions, furs, fleecy blankets and pillows were pilled upon each other until they formed a warm and inviting heap. He lay there in the middle, his left arm stretched out to one side, staring blankly at nothing, but his mind providing images.

_Love me!_ He kept thinking, _love me, please. No one could love me like you. You mortal who's flame shines so bright... love me like no other could... won't you?_

No. No, no, no.

He moved onto his side, shutting his eyes, willing the images, the thoughts, the hurt to just go away. His hands lifted to his face. He smeared away the makeup on his eyes until his fingertips were gray and blue with it. He could still smell her, almost taste her on the back of his throat like some fine wine bottle that had been opened for him, set out, but couldn't be tasted. Damn it. Damn him. Damn her.

His breath was coming ragged. Water pooled on his cheeks. He hadn't cried in centuries.

He missed her already.

* * *

Sarah lay listening to her heartbeat. Her father and stepsister were already asleep, Toby was as well. Being bounced around with a bunch of goblins had to be tiring on the poor thing. She had taken off her vest and her jeans. Her poet shirt came to her knees. She thought it looked good on her. She had. She did. She rolled onto her stomach and stared at her array of toys. Books, stuffed animals, costumes, toys. Dolls that she had dressed up over and over again to make them look like characters from her fantasies. A wooden doll with a blank face stared at her from her vanity. It wore tight pants, black riding boots, a red poet shirt and a black vest. She had done is subconsciously after getting back from the Labyrinth. She stared at it, a part of her wanting to tear it apart, a part of her content to just stare at it. Her heart ached, and she wasn't sure why.

It was only three more days until her sixteenth birthday. Her father kept asking her what she wanted. Over and over and over again.

_I want him, papa,_ she thought, _I would gladly wander that cursed Labyrinth for all eternity if I could see his face again._

_No,_ another voice, sterner, in her head immediatley responded. _He took Toby. _

_You asked him to._

_And I asked him for Toby back. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if..._

"Shut up," Sarah whispered. She buried her head in her pillow and counted the seconds until she had to come up for breath. By the time she had she had cooled off a bit. She stood up, taking the Jareth-doll from her vanity and opening her bedroom door, slipping quietly down the hall, down the stairs, and out onto the wrap-around porch. She kept walking until she reached the woods by her house. She set the doll down at the base of a tree and stared at it. In the moonlight she looked even more frail then she usually did when wearing an over-sized shirt. Her eyes shone with determination.

"Goblin King."

* * *

Jareth heard it like a lovers whisper, heard it like a voice in the back of his head, _Goblin King._

* * *

Sarah knelt by the doll, the ground wet, immediatley coating her knees with dirt. "Goblin King," she whispered, and touched the dolls head.

* * *

Jareth felt her fingers run through his hair and he shut his eyes. _You're imagining it,_ he tried to convince himself, _You're imagining it, damn it._ But he couldn't mistake the sound of her voice.

* * *

Sarah bent down and kissed the smooth wooden head of the doll. "Come to me." She said so quietly that if it hadn't of been for the slight wind, the command would never have made it to Goblin City.

* * *

Jareth was torn out of his world like a giant fist had enveloped him and dragged him through a brick wall. He gave a loud, shuttering cry before he found himself face down in the sweet-smelling earth. He looked up, his face smeared with dirt, and saw Sarah kneeling next to him, eyes wide. She looked so tiny in her dress, so damn innocent. He clenched his fist.

Sarah was silent only a moment, "I called you." She whispered, "I didn't think you'd come." She paused, hesitated almost, "I missed you."


	2. Severed Ties

Sarah gazed at him, slightly dirty from his fall in the mud. He was staring at her coldly, much like he had when they first met. Regarding her as though she was something interesting, like he wanted to see how she would react to different circumstances. A specimen to study. She didn't like it much, but liked it little enough not to make a deal out of it. He, after all, had only come because she had called him.

"Jareth," she whispered, his name rolling out of her lips like sweet candy.

He merely stared.

"Are... are you alright?"

He gave a small, seemingly casual, smile, "Yes."

She was self conscious. She wished she hadn't worn something so short. But half her mind had thought he wouldn't come. "I... I'm not sure quite what to say."

He was amazed that she had grown so much in so little time. "Then don't say anything."

Her throat was dry. Jareth was crawling towards her. A movement he made fluid and graceful. She could never have done that. "It's my birthday in a few days," she whispered when he stopped, sitting down again, his knees touching hers.

"Did you bring me here to grant you a birthday wish?" His voice was calm, but he was testing her.

She shook her head, "No. I meant what I said. I miss you."

"Why?"

She opened her mouth to reply, to say 'because I think I fell in love with you. Because I didn't just fall in love with you, but with your whole world. And I want that. I want it all. But that would be like a wish, wouldn't it?'. Instead she said, "I... don't know."

He smiled and his hand came up to brush away her hair. "Sarah," he said, "I missed you too."

His face was suddenly blurred, and she knew she was almost crying. She tried to blink in away, but Jareth put his other hand on her cheek and the tears escaped. They touched his gloved fingertips and rolled along his palms. He stared at her, her eyes shining, and was glad. She had called him and, yes, it had been momentarily painful, and shocking, but it was good. It was all very, very good.

* * *

Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo and Ambrosious were all in the castle. The goblins, having retreated from their 'battle' in their city, had come back for Jareth's assistance. He had been gone and, when he came back, was in a fould mood. When one of the goblins asked what to do with the imposters, he had simply scowled and walked away to his rooms. The door closed, and they didn't hear from him again.

So, in a manner befitting most goblins, they decided to do nothing. Jareth, after all, would take care of it if it needed to be taken care of. The quartet had disappeared and reappeared in a span of an hour and a half, and the goblins hadn't thought anything of it. Now the heroic bunch sat in a corner of the thrown room and tried to figure out what to do.

Sir Didymus said gravely, "A knight lives his life by seven years. Seven years I have guarded that bog, and now that I'm free of it. I must goeth and find another quest that will take me just as long, and through many a perils. Would ye goeth with me, Sire Hoggle and sir brother Ludo?"

"Ludo – Brother," the great beast rumbled, "Quest – Brother."

"I will taketh that thee has given his consent, dear brother," Didymus said quickly.

"Sarah," Ludo responded.

"My fair lady will call us if she doth need us, my brother."

Ludo nodded his shaggy head. Hoggle, on the other hand, shook his, "I can't go with yer two." He said quietly, "My entire life is ere in the Labyrinth. My sister and brothers are still in need of caring, and I have a job. My life is not in quests."

Sir Didymus shook his head sadly, "My fellow in combat, thou speakest true, but I regret thy decision. If thou shall ever need me, however, I will gladly ride to thee side."

"And I thankyee," Hoggle replied gruffly. "And I, too, will go to Sarah if she needs us."

"You are bravest of heart, my fellow sir Hoggle." At this Sir Didymus mounted his shaggy sheepdog, "Come now, Ambroscious. There are many adventures doth forth. Come, my brother and fair thee well, my combat in arms, sire Hoggle."

"Goodbye to you too, Didymus," Hoggle said, smiling, "And you too, you big read galloot."

"Hoggle – Friend." Ludo reached down and patted Hoggle on the shoulder but in his strength nearly drove the Goblin onto the ground. He grunted and followed Sir Didymus out of the thrown room.

Hoggle watched them go, and then sighed. "Its going to go back to the same boring things, I 'spose." He grumbled. But he was wrong, very wrong indeed.

* * *

Jareth kissed her cheeks where the tears had fallen. Among the fae it is considered an insult to waist good body fluid. Even among the goblins. Sarah closed her eyes and leaned into him.

Jareth tried to take them back to the castle beyond the goblin city, he really did, but found the way blocked. He moved away from Sarah so quickly that she started. He stared at his hands, eyes round. He conjured a crystal and Sarah flinched, but he just made a disappear. He tried to take himself back, but again found the way blocked. It was as though someone had cut the link that tied himself to the Underground. He stared at his hands again, stared at Sarah, and whispered, "I can't get back." He looked at her for a while, then said, so softly that Sarah could barely hear it, "What have you done?"

* * *

**A/N:** Meh. Sorry for not updating sooner, but I was working on my other Labyrinth fic. And this chapter was particularly hard to write. Had to pick and choose between many different ideas and came up with this one. Hope it's alright. Thank you mucho for all those who have updated. I love you guys.

**That's all for now, until next time...**

_**Crimsonsympathy**_


	3. And Two Years Later

Sarah fell back onto her bed and stared at the canopy ceiling. It had been nearly two years since she had summoned the Goblin King to her, and they were still together. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. She was his anchor to the Aboveground, and they were both hopelessly in love. Who knew how love worked, anyway? She didn't, and neither did he.

There was a light knock on her door, and Sarah rolled her head so she could see, "Who is it?"

"Judith," her step-mother called through, "Jen's on the phone, she wants to talk to you."

"I got it in here," Sarah said immediately, picking up the white cordless on her bedside table. She heard her stepmothers retreating footsteps as she flicked on the "talk" button. "Hola," she said.

"Hey baby cakes," Jen whispered suggestively, then laughed, "What'cha doing tonight?"

"Mmm," Sarah said, lying back on her bed and twirling her fingers in her hair, "I was going to go out with Jareth. Why?"

"Ah, you're no fun," Jen pouted, "I was going to give you a birthday gift."

"My birthday isn't until tomorrow. You're coming to the party, yes?"

"Yes, of course."

"Give me my gift them."

"Oh!" Jen whined, "But I wanted it to be... special."

"Honey, I know you love me, but I'm just not that way."

Jen laughed, "Come on, you spend too much time with that British fellow anyway. You've hardly had any time for us since you met him. Has he proposed yet?"

Jen always asked that, and Sarah always answered the same way, "Oh, well, you know, we haven't found the time." Usually Jen thought up something inappropriate as the reason they 'hadn't found the time'. Sarah liked teasing her.

"Oh, you hussy," Jen whispered, then said in a livelier voice, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. There's three minutes of my afternoon wasted. Thanks a lot."

"Ha ha. I didn't ask you to call me, you know."

"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, sweet cheeks. Is the boy wonder going to be there?"

"Course."

Jen sighed again, "I swear," she whispered, then louder, "Alright, I'm going now. Bye!"

"Bye."

Sarah hung up and tossed the phone to her feet, then smiled. She stretched, from the tips of her fingers to the length of her toes. Jareth was coming over in an hour, and she had to get ready, but she just didn't feel like moving right now. She had to take a shower and all that, but the bed was so damn comfortable...

* * *

"Love," someone was shaking her shoulder, "Come on, love. If I stay in here too long your father will murder me."

Sarah opened one sleepy eye and smiled, "Hey there handsome."

Jareth grinned at her. Since he had been summoned, there had been a few things that he had modified in his appearance to 'fit in'. His hair had been cut, and was now growing out in a more normal matter (touching his shoulders now, instead of the mere half-inch he had sheared it to). His eyes were still mis-matched (a birth defect, he said) and he had made himself look about nineteen years younger. But sometimes, when Sarah and he were alone, he dropped the 'glamour' and showed himself. It was in his eyes, and the way he held himself. Her friends and family saw an easy-going British boy, but Sarah saw the deeper part of him. She liked it, it made her feel... special.

Jareth tousled her hair, "What's the matter with you? Sleeping like this? Come on, get up. I'll be downstairs, alright? If you fall asleep on me, I'm leaving."

Sarah's smile turned to a grin, "Right-o. See you in a jiff."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, this was a very short chapter, but I'm tired and need to go to bed. Car needs to be inspected in the morning and all. I want to take this time to explain some things, so please read this if you wish to be kept informed.

I am taking the liberty to kind of warp the time frame that the Labyrinth has been set in.

I know that some of you are going "hey, that's two years... what the hell?", but believe me, I have a plan for this piece.

I also want to mention something that I forgot... this story has been created, inspired and somewhat dependent on the Sting song "Lemon Tree". It's a rare as hell song by the guy (though you can get it on any file-sharing program), not on any of the CD's that I've picked up. I got it from an uncle of mine that's really into him, and it's a very pretty song. I recommend anyone that has access to numerous song files listen to it. You'll get a gist of what this story is/will be about.

I plan on writing more chapters soon. I know that this story is going uber-slow, and I apologize. I'm still working on my piece "Perfect" which has to be 1.) finished and 2.) re-edited. This'll take about three weeks. When the three weeks is over, my attention turns mainly to this story. This story will be updated, but not often. Until then.

It is entirely possible that I will drop this story. I'm bad at finishing stories. I apologize for that.

This won't be a long story.

Alright, I think that's about all you guys need to know. See you next chapter and thank you all for the reviews, they're lovely.

_**Crimsonsympathy**_


End file.
